Big Sandy Community and Technical College, in conjunction with its Workforce Solutions division and the Kentucky Coal Academy, have launched an accelerated welding program on its Mayo campus. The six-month program will provide students with an industry-recognized national Skills Standard 1 certificate from the American Welding Society. Kelli Hall, dean of career education and workforce development at BSCTC, said “this comprehensive training will give students 700 lab hours with highly-credentialed faculty in state-of-the-art facilities. The college just completed phase 1  of a $1.5million renovation on its welding facility. Financial aid is available to qualifying students, and laid off miners may be eligible for retraining through the Kentucky Coal Academy.